I Never Promised You A Rose Garden
By: Hannah Green Hannah Green- "I wrote [I Never Promised You a Rose Garden] as a way of describing mental illness without the romanticisation that it underwent in the sixties and seventies when people were taking LSD to simulate what they thought was a liberating experience. During those days, people often confused creativity with insanity. There is no creativity in madness; madness is the opposite of creativity, although people may be creative in spite of being mentally ill."
- Joanne Greenberg http://www.narpa.org/greenberg.htm
Book Cover
Summary
This book was about a 16 year old girl, Deborah Blau. She is a very extraordinary talented person. In the begining of the book it starts off explaining what she is seeing. Her parents are driving to a motel. But you dont know where they are going. About the second chapter
you find out that they are taking her to a hosptial. This hospitial isnt for injurys of the body its for people with mental health needs. Since Deborah was a young girl she had always had things not right with her. When she was five years old she had a tumor in the urethra which she had two surgrys to remove it. As this book takes place in about 1942 they were not as up to date on surgrys to it must have caused alot of trama on her having a surgry like that at such a young age. During chapter two you find out that she is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that makes people confuse reality and fantasy. They may make up there own world and language. They may also see things that are not there. That is what Deborah has done. She has made up her own world that is called Yr. This world has no humans but herself. She did make up gods who would punish her if she did things wrong. When Deborah was younger she was abled to control this second world. But now she has been so overwhelmed by this world that she doesnt know that it isnt real. Part of the reason she made up this world was because she didnt have any friends. When she would make friends she wouldnt treat them right because of her illness. So they would stop being friends. Also she would always get made fun of because she was a Jewish. She would go to summer camps and they would disinclude her. The only was she would have them be nicer to her was if she would give away her candy that her mom would send her. Which in turn would get them to like her for about half a day at the tops. As she is at the hosptial she has visits with an amazing doctor named Dr. Fried. Who with each vist you see her finding out whats wrong with Deborah. When Deborah first starts off at the hosptial she is in Ward B. This ward is for people who werent as much as a danger to themselves. But after a visit to Dr. Frieds office Debroah picks up a can or a piece of metal and she takes the can and severly cuts her arms. After this she is transfered to the Distrubed ward. This is where she meets people to whom she can greatly find similarities with. This was one of the first times she was abled to do this. Some people who she has been abled to have a closed connection with would include Carla, Miss Coral, Lee Miller. Miss Coral was the one whow as teaching Deborah other languages that had been in poetry. Which Deborah really enjoyed. The more and more you read into this book you dont see a crazy girl. You see a girl whos trying to fight a battle that she probably wont be abled to overcome. But in the end she does. The doctor figures out what is causing her to make up this world. Deborah does get to leave the hospitial and is abled to get her high school degree. But she doesnt go to a normal high school. It was a city remedial school. She does go back to the hospitial to vist. She finds out that other pople ahve done as well as she has. She eventually over comes Yr. Which makes you have a smile on your face to know that someone who struggled that much in only 16 years can finally get on with making an impact in the world.
About the Author:
Hannah Green
You can find new books written by her under the name Joanne Greenberg. Hannah Green was a fake name she used because she had to protect her faimly against the stigima that can come with mental illness. But once her faimly found out about the mental illness she had allowed reprints of the book to use her real name. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, was a semi-autobiographical book about her own mental illness. Thats why the book is so realistic because in part shes telling about her struggles.
Reasons Why its an Outstanding book:
I think the main reason why this book is an outstanding book is because it shows you what a person with a mental illness goes through if they are put in a hospital. It is also very touching. To see how much struggle a person of such a young age. I related to it so well being 16 because I am 16 and I would think to myself what happened if this had happend to me? Could I have overcome it? Its a very touching story. I havent had a book like this touch my heart so well since December Stillness. If I could give this books a star I'd give it five. Because of the way it touched me. If I had to recommend this book to anyone I would. It helps you see things in a different light.
By: Hannah Green
Hannah Green-
"I wrote [I Never Promised You a Rose Garden] as a way of describing mental illness without the romanticisation that it underwent in the sixties and seventies when people were taking LSD to simulate what they thought was a liberating experience. During those days, people often confused creativity with insanity. There is no creativity in madness; madness is the opposite of creativity, although people may be creative in spite of being mentally ill."
- Joanne Greenberg http://www.narpa.org/greenberg.htm
Summary
This book was about a 16 year old girl, Deborah Blau. She is a very extraordinary talented person. In the begining of the book it starts off explaining what she is seeing. Her parents are driving to a motel. But you dont know where they are going. About the second chapter
you find out that they are taking her to a hosptial. This hospitial isnt for injurys of the body its for people with mental health needs. Since Deborah was a young girl she had always had things not right with her. When she was five years old she had a tumor in the urethra which she had two surgrys to remove it. As this book takes place in about 1942 they were not as up to date on surgrys to it must have caused alot of trama on her having a surgry like that at such a young age. During chapter two you find out that she is diagnosed with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental illness that makes people confuse reality and fantasy. They may make up there own world and language. They may also see things that are not there. That is what Deborah has done. She has made up her own world that is called Yr. This world has no humans but herself. She did make up gods who would punish her if she did things wrong. When Deborah was younger she was abled to control this second world. But now she has been so overwhelmed by this world that she doesnt know that it isnt real. Part of the reason she made up this world was because she didnt have any friends. When she would make friends she wouldnt treat them right because of her illness. So they would stop being friends. Also she would always get made fun of because she was a Jewish. She would go to summer camps and they would disinclude her. The only was she would have them be nicer to her was if she would give away her candy that her mom would send her. Which in turn would get them to like her for about half a day at the tops. As she is at the hosptial she has visits with an amazing doctor named Dr. Fried. Who with each vist you see her finding out whats wrong with Deborah. When Deborah first starts off at the hosptial she is in Ward B. This ward is for people who werent as much as a danger to themselves. But after a visit to Dr. Frieds office Debroah picks up a can or a piece of metal and she takes the can and severly cuts her arms. After this she is transfered to the Distrubed ward. This is where she meets people to whom she can greatly find similarities with. This was one of the first times she was abled to do this. Some people who she has been abled to have a closed connection with would include Carla, Miss Coral, Lee Miller. Miss Coral was the one whow as teaching Deborah other languages that had been in poetry. Which Deborah really enjoyed. The more and more you read into this book you dont see a crazy girl. You see a girl whos trying to fight a battle that she probably wont be abled to overcome. But in the end she does. The doctor figures out what is causing her to make up this world. Deborah does get to leave the hospitial and is abled to get her high school degree. But she doesnt go to a normal high school. It was a city remedial school. She does go back to the hospitial to vist. She finds out that other pople ahve done as well as she has. She eventually over comes Yr. Which makes you have a smile on your face to know that someone who struggled that much in only 16 years can finally get on with making an impact in the world.
About the Author:
Hannah Green
You can find new books written by her under the name Joanne Greenberg. Hannah Green was a fake name she used because she had to protect her faimly against the stigima that can come with mental illness. But once her faimly found out about the mental illness she had allowed reprints of the book to use her real name. I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, was a semi-autobiographical book about her own mental illness. Thats why the book is so realistic because in part shes telling about her struggles.
Reasons Why its an Outstanding book:
I think the main reason why this book is an outstanding book is because it shows you what a person with a mental illness goes through if they are put in a hospital. It is also very touching. To see how much struggle a person of such a young age. I related to it so well being 16 because I am 16 and I would think to myself what happened if this had happend to me? Could I have overcome it? Its a very touching story. I havent had a book like this touch my heart so well since December Stillness. If I could give this books a star I'd give it five. Because of the way it touched me. If I had to recommend this book to anyone I would. It helps you see things in a different light.